The ‘God Squad’ Just Voted to Allow Drilling Near 10 National Park Sites. Here’s Why That Puts Public Lands at Risk.

After a Trump administration–appointed panel rolled back endangered species protections near ten Gulf Coast national park sites, critics have sued the federal government, accusing it of playing God with threatened wildlife.

On March 31, the Endangered Species Committee (ESC), a seven-member panel comprised of political appointees, voted to allow oil and gas operations in the Gulf of Mexico to bypass regulatory requirements. Dubbed the “God Squad” for its power to decide whether a species survives or goes extinct, the ESC can override the Endangered Species Act (ESA) when it deems economic or national security interests take priority over conservation.

The environmental groups behind the suit say the oil and gas operations will jeopardize several species, including the Rice whale, one of the rarest whale species in the world.

“It’s a false choice to have to choose between drilling and endangered species,” Catherine Wannamaker, an attorney involved in the case, told Outside. “There is no need for this exemption, period.”

Why Conservation Groups Say the Move is Illegal

On April 15, the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) sued the Trump administration in a federal court, arguing that the ESC skipped mandatory public hearings and scientific reviews to give the oil industry a free pass in the Gulf. Other groups involved in the lawsuit include the National Wildlife Federation and the National Parks Conservation Association.

“Oil spills don’t respect offshore boundaries,” Wannamaker, SELC lead case attorney, said. “If you have risky exploratory drilling, the results can end up anywhere in the Gulf of Mexico.”

While the bypass doesn’t permit companies to drill on land managed by the National Park Service (NPS), it does allow oil and gas operations to proceed near them without any risk-mitigating factors. The groups behind the lawsuit say the decision could threaten wildlife near multiple national park sites and protected areas along the Gulf Coast, including the Everglades and Dry Tortugas National Parks, Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve, DeSoto National Memorial, and the coastlines of the Gulf Islands and Padre Island National Seashores.

The Gulf of Mexico is home to a number of endangered species, including sea turtles and coral, sperm whales, giant manta rays, and the critically endangered Rice’s whale, one of the rarest whales in the world. Fewer than 100 of these whales are alive today, and they only live in these waters.

What Is the God Squad, and Can They Override the Endangered Species Act?

Congress established the ESC in 1978, and the Secretary of the Interior, Doug Burgum, currently chairs it. Other members include those from the Army, the Department of Agriculture, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Members convene and vote to allow exemptions to the ESA in rare cases. The March 31 vote marks just the third time the committee has ever granted such an exemption: In 1979, it approved a dam on Wyoming’s Platte River, and in 1992, it approved timber sales by the Bureau of Land Management in Oregon.

In the past, the group’s decisions involved a lengthy, heavily scrutinized process. In 2026, however, the group published a public notice in the Federal Register only two weeks before the meeting. The lawsuit alleges that the March 31 meeting—which lasted just 15 minutes—didn’t comply with federal regulations.

It’s part of a growing trend of shortened public comment periods involving public lands.

“There is a very strict process outlined in the statute of how you do it,” Wannamaker said. “There are documents that are supposed to be provided, and public notice, and a chance for the public to weigh in. None of that was done. That is not how this process is supposed to work.”

Public Lands and National Parks Caught in the Crosshairs

Oil and gas companies are allowed to drill in the Gulf, but only after they complete an environmental review to meet ESA standards. The March 31 vote removes that step in the process, instead granting a blanket exemption for activities like exploratory drilling and ship traffic.

If the court upholds the ESA bypass, experts warn that it will set an ominous precedent for the future of America’s wilderness and endangered species.

“Each of these species requires careful consideration and conservation under the ESA,” Bart Melton, National Parks Conservation Association wildlife program director, told Outside. “Some in industry like to paint those conservation efforts as a bureaucratic process. In reality, it’s democracy in action. If we are going to protect America’s conservation heritage, we can’t make decisions lightly or without consideration and application of the best available science.”

Industry Interests vs. Environmental Oversight

Decisions made in the Gulf could extend to other NPS sites, critics fear. According to Melton, the Trump administration indicated the ESC will now meet quarterly, suggesting they may continue granting exemptions.

“We could see attempts to exclude other types of development from regulations on the doorsteps of parks around the country,” Melton said. “It’s hard to say where or what will be next. It could be a timber cut, a data center, a mine, a road, or any other type of industrial project where park wildlife is deemed in the way of progress. Any one of these projects could sell America’s conservation future for short-term industry gains.”

Wannamaker echoed this concern: “If you can do this in this cavalier way for an entire industry in the entire Gulf of Mexico, what’s next?”

The D.C. Circuit will now review the SELC lawsuit and consider its merits. It’s unclear how long that process could take.